This invention is a further improvement over the previously issued U.S. Pat. No. 5,626,161 (hereinafter called "prior art") also granted to the co-inventors of this application.
The prior art disclosed a multiple-fold automatic umbrella having a push button slidably held in the grip for controlling the opening and closing of the umbrella with simplified control means.
However, the control means (5) of the prior art can be further modified to further simplify its structure and minimize the elements in construction of the control means (5).
For instance, the upper latch (52) is separated from the push button (51) and may be integrally formed with the push button (51) for simplifying the structure and minimizing the parts of the control means (5). The lower latch (54) formed on the cylinder (571) of the anti-false operation safety means (57) is directly depressed by the middle and outer tubes (13,14) when folding the umbrella (FIG. 3 of the prior art) to be easily damaged by fatigue failure. The cylinder (571) may be elongated to allow a top surface of the cylinder to be positioned above the lower latch (54) to directly receive the outer and middle tubes (14,13) when closing the umbrella to prevent a direct compression upon the lower latch (54) for prolonging service life of the control means (5).
The present inventor has found the drawbacks of the prior art and invented the present automatic umbrella with simplified structure and minimized elements of the control means.